Google Tez: How to add bank account, tap for cash & everything you need to know

We decided to put Google Tez to test and learn how to manage all our banking and online transactions at fingertips.

Google Tez: How to add bank account, tap for cash & everything you need to know

Search giant Google recently released Google Tez, a new UPI enabled mobile payments app, in India. There are doubts and uncertainties among users as to what’s UPI, what the app is all about, how does it work or differs from its competitors. To address all these questions, we decided to put Google Tez to test and learn how to manage all your banking and online transactions at your fingertips. Google Tez is available on both Android and iOS. We downloaded and installed the app on our Xiaomi Mi 5S. Interestingly enough, Google Tez app received an update in less than an hour after installing it. So, Google is apparently working on a fix since some users were initially facing issues with the app.

What is UPI (Unified Payments Interface)

For starters, Google Tez has integrated UPI or Unified Payments Interface for seamless payment transactions. For those who have no idea what is UPI, it’s a banking system introduced by the National Payments Corporation of India to make sending/receiving money easier using different payment apps. To name a few, some of the existing UPI-enabled apps include Paytm, PhonePe, and BHIM, etc. Unlike NEFT, RTGS, or IMPS, you can send or request money over UPI without any bank account details like account number, IFSC code, etc. Firstly, one needs to set a UPI ID that is similar to a username for a UPI account. Since both your UPI and bank accounts are connected, all you need to enter is other person’s UPI ID while sending money. It’s as simple as sending an email or SMS to someone.

Getting started with Google Tez

Installing Google Tez was very easy. All you need to do is go to http://tez.google.com find an option to get the app. As mentioned before, we’ve used it on Android. Although we didn’t put it to test on iOS, we are not expecting it to be any different from its Android counterpart. Upon opening the app for the first time, you will be asked to choose a language. Since English was selected by default, we hit ‘next’ and got started. You are supposed to enter your country code and phone number on the next screen. Make sure to enter the phone number that should be registered with your bank account. Entering the registered mobile number will make it easier to find your bank account details. Select your Google account and hit ‘continue.’ For safety, choose a screen lock or Google PIN. If you choose Google PIN, you will need to be connected to the internet everytime you want to access Google Tez. So, we decided to opt for the screen lock.

Once you’ve cleared all the basic setup, you will see an option to add a bank account below your name on top left corner. Up next shows up the list of all supported banks to choose from. We chose our bank and hit next. The app sent an SMS from our number to verify it with our bank account. Once it discovered all your accounts, choose the account that you’d like to use with Tez. We had to create a 4-digit PIN for our bank account. This PIN is used for all payments, but before that, you need to clear an account verification by entering your debit card’s last six digits and expiry. It will send an OTP that it will enter automatically if you allow Google Tez to access your SMS. Set and confirm your UPI PIN and you will see a confirmation screen that your account has been added.

Using Google Tez for payments

Once you’ve successfully added your bank account, you can send or request payment. We sent a payment request to someone in our contact. You can select people by their account number, UPI ID, QR code, and phone number. There’s also another option called Tap for Cash Mode. We sent a payment request using a mobile number. All we had to do was enter the amount, add a note (optional) and hit ‘Request.’ We could then track the status of our transaction in a chat-like interface. Once we received the payment, our request saw a double-tick similar to WhatsApp messages. We also sent payment using Tap for Cash Mode. For this to work, both sender and receivers need to be in proximity. Since we were sending money, we had to select ‘Pay’ while the other had to choose ‘Receive.’ Once done, both the parties will be located for the transaction to complete.

Links

About us

Techook.com, India’s first stack-based platform for tech gadgets. Launched with an aim to simplify smartphone decision-making,Techook does not cut any corners to generate completely impartial smartphone ratings to provide objective information to its readers.